Tribalism is a primal human instinct that surfaces at times of crisis and threat, as it directs action toward survival and protecting those who are part of your mob. Given there is safety in numbers, and avoiding ostracism and isolation from a community that will otherwise provide emotional refuge, people will strive to stay connected … Read more
Sport can have a higher purpose, other than the pursuit of victory. As athletes, coaches, teams, and organisations embrace honourable behaviour, it is possible for them to transcend mediocrity and the mundane, to achieve something so special, so rewarding, so exultant. Our collective humanity is enhanced as we become the greatest versions of ourselves, not … Read more
One of the best saved till last. Also, perhaps representing the second half of the greatest pair of album-start-finish songs. Wow! Hotel California kicks it off, and this amazing song completes it. I love so much about this song. An all time classic in my reckoning. A timeless song, so profound, so poignant now, in … Read more
A topical song. Yes. By a talented female artist. Yes. A special song. Yes. But included for other reasons important to me. Women and young people are the future of this planet. Men alone, and men with too much unconstrained authority cannot be trusted to act in the best interests of humanity, indeed in the … Read more
I love this song for many reasons, just as I love this band, and so many of its other songs. Freddie’s soaring vocals, the lyrics, the guitars. Yet the song’s key message resonates, as all of us navigate that gap between deprivation and hedonism, pleasure and pain, less rather than more, seeking success and fulfillment … Read more
Long story short. Took the (rescheduled) flight from Kununurra to Darwin via Perth. Watched the Gurrumul movie that evening. Maybe the first time I cried on a plane. Spellbound. I know this man’s music was so melodious and beautiful. His life story was a combination of sadness, disadvantage, joy, love of country and kin, inspiring … Read more
So many great and meaningful songs from this wonderful Australian band, Midnight Oil. Perhaps I have more favourite songs, and from this band too, yet this song encapsulates one of my most memorable musical moments from my earlier life. Imagine. Crowded in an old music venue in St Kilda, the lights are down, the tension … Read more
A tribute to those of us who have used alcohol or other substances to get through. To cope. In my case, to ease my social anxiety. In Pink Floyd’s case, this was a story about heroin. Nevertheless, it was part of my early education about how easy it can be to fall into the lure … Read more
Another beautiful song. Representative of three divergent themes for me. Firstly, shit does happens and life is not fair. But we can recover and once more prosper. You win some, you lose some. Secondly, a personal emancipation of sorts. It was not cool to love ABBA when I was a self-conscious teenager. Now, I do … Read more
This song represents that very horrendous and tragic event for so many in New York City, Sept 11 2001. For one of my favourite artists, it was very personal and so close to home. So he created The Rising album in tribute to those thousands of lives lost, and so many families who would never … Read more